Through the Roof

The world is constantly inventing; genius serves all the purposes of human desire: cannot faith invent too, and reach by some new means the outcasts who lie perishing around us? It was the presence of Jesus which excited victorious courage in the four bearers of the palsied man: is not the Lord among us now? Have we seen his face for ourselves this morning? Have we felt his healing power in our own souls? If so, then through door, through window, or through roof, let us, breaking through all impediments, labor to bring poor souls to Jesus. –Charles Spurgeon

The more worthwhile something is, the more difficult it is to achieve. That is pretty true across the board. Climbing Mt. Washington is one thing. Climbing Mt. Everest is something else entirely. It took Edison 10,000 tries before he got the light bulb to work.

Sometimes the things we want to achieve turn out to be even more difficult than we thought…the first thing that comes to my mind is the recent “big dig” here in Boston. The idea was great but what an incredible cost we have had to pay to get the underground highway to work!

What I have been learning is that this “law” is just as true for the simple and obvious things we strive to achieve as it is for the incredible. Want some examples? How about spending quality time with your husband, or wife, or kids? There is nothing complicated about getting exercise, but how many of us who make a go at keeping an exercise routine actually keep it?

This is true of our relationship with God too. There is nothing complicated about doing what it takes to build a knowledge, friendship, and faith in our Father, His Son, or with His Spirit who lives in our hearts. There is no great financial expense necessary to achieve this. All it takes is reading the Bible, coming to church, being in a small group, and having daily prayer. But we let all sorts of things get in the way of our relationship with God.

We need to be more like the four friends that Spurgeon refers to who would not let crowds, walls, or closed doors keep them from getting to Jesus. They needed Him. Their friend who lay paralyzed on his mat needed Him. And they overcame every obstacle that was put in their way to get before the Great Physician.

Why don’t we have this same zeal? What keeps us from being so committed? Why do so many of us stop short of success? We all have our reasons. They are many. Some are good things in and of themselves. Some are sinful habits that we are too blind to see, or too attached to to let go.

Whitley Phipps, a well known gospel singer, once said, “The greatest chink in the Christian’s armor today is that he thinks God is important….but not everything.” If you want to experience the power, love, freedom, and forgiveness that Jesus has for you, you need to believe that Jesus is everything. You need to be committed to do whatever you need to do in order to get to Jesus…even if that means digging a hole through the roof. It’s going to take effort. But you’ll be glad you did.